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NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - The New Orleans Saints turned to their defense to hand the New York Jets a convincing 24-10 defeat in a clash of unbeaten NFL teams on Sunday.

Darren Sharper intercepted a pass then sprinted 99 yards for a touchdown while Remi Ayodele grabbed a fumble for another touchdown for the Saints (4-0), who established a 17-0 lead in the second quarter that they never relinquished.

"Those were outstanding and, quite obviously, very big plays," Saints coach Sean Payton told reporters. "The defense was outstanding.

"I think he's got a pretty good presence," the head coach added about Sharper's interception. "He watches the eyes of the quarterback. He made a real good play on that."

The physical play of the Saints also impressed Payton.

"We won the turnover battle and that's generally a key to be in the win column," he said.

Neither the Saints' Drew Brees nor Jets' rookie Mark Sanchez threw a touchdown pass.

"Give all the credit to our defense," said Brees, the Saints' veteran quarterback who completed 20 of 32 passes for 190 yards.

"We wanted to run the ball effectively, keep our defense on the sideline and manage the ball and not turn it over.

"We were balanced and did what we needed to do to win."

John Carney kicked a first-quarter field goal and Pierre Thomas scored on a one-yard run for New Orleans in the fourth to wrap up the win.

The Jets' (3-1) points came from Jay Feely's second quarter field goal and Thomas Jones' third quarter 15-yard touchdown run.

Sanchez, who had guided the Jets to their three early wins, was intercepted three times and finished with 138 yards passing.

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